Jessica - Tree of Stars

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:18] Speaker B: Well, hi there. It has been a while, or what do the cool kids say? It has been a minute since an episode of Awareness the podcast has been released. It's just been real busy times and I'll get to why in just a moment here. But welcome, welcome and thank you so much for being here for Awareness the podcast fostering a more compassionate, empathetic and accepting society. Yours truly, Rob Daniels here. And I look forward to introducing my guest here in just a moment as well. So essentially, there's been lots going on and I look forward to getting to that. To you First, I hope that you can subscribe to this podcast because it would certainly mean a lot because it's, it's all about mental health, meaningful conversations. We need more mental health, meaningful conversations and to create more positive, meaningful change. So please subscribe. Like this podcast. Share it with your friends, your family, whoever you think needs it. They could essentially, you know, help save them going through a bad day, going through a bad time. This is what we're all about, is helping others. So before we fully get into today's episode, I want to take a quick moment to share something personal. Okay. Excuse me. After Sarah, several years of this is difficult. Okay, so after several years of writing, literally like three and a half years of writing, four years with this vision in my brain, and if you struggle with obsession, a little bit of ocd, you know that it's, it can be a good thing. It could be something that wires you and, and, and what makes you get out of bed in the morning is to have a little bit of an obsession when it comes to a positive thing, and that's to bring something meaningful into the world. I believe we all have the, the vision and the potential to bring in a creation into the world. And I'm all about that. And I just been hiding in studio closets, locking myself in Airbnbs, trying to find peace wherever I could. To just write for purpose, for the meaning of trying to put my spin on changing the world. And I've officially released my brand new book, so it's right here called Being Mindful of Others, the key to humanity uniting. And I'll lift it up right there to just show you up close. It's, it's not too, too crazy of a, of a image on the front. It's a fellow in a canoe and it's right there and just, you know, with mountains in the back background and a whole bunch of people that are sort of standing on the edge of the, the beach, the water, looking at that one person in the canoe. And I guess it's just that what that's about is a fellow in the canoe just sort of hoping that people can see what that person is, is going through. And yet they don't understand. So they feel alone in their own soul in the sense that they just don't know what they're going through. And that can be anybody struggling with grief, anybody struggling with pain, anyone struggling with any type of ailment, excuse me, where you feel like, you know, you might be at a party and everybody's having a great time but you. They have no idea what you're going through in order for you to try and enjoy that great time. And you don't want to be the Debbie Downer of the place, but you're fighting to just live your life as normal as possible. So that's kind of like what that person in the canoe is, that everybody may have felt like that at one point in time or they still do. So that's what that's all about. So this book is a. It's a collection of stories and it is centered around mental health, healing, and learning to shift our focus toward understanding others, not just ourselves. So living with more of a focus on others other than just ourselves. And if that message resonates with you, then the book is available now. And I truly appreciate your support. I'll tell you this, I hope you don't go, you know, listen to each their own, whatever you'd like. It's totally up to you. But this is just from the author's recommendation. I hope you don't go running to Amazon or any exterior platforms just yet. I know it's on like Barnes and Noble and such and shout out to all these platforms for carrying it, but I would much rather see you in person at an event near you, hopefully in the near future with a book tour called the check your ego at the door book tour, where you can join me for a meaningful conversation about the book and to discuss the importance of mindfulness, self awareness, the importance of awareness of others, and, and turning pain into purpose. What? Like, honestly, without pain, there would be no book here? I can be completely honest with you on that. So I look forward to chatting about all that with you in hopefully a city near you soon. I posted this on my social media. If you want to see several bookstores that have hopped on to join this meaningful evening and conversation in various cities, @robdanielsonair on Instagram for that. Also on my Facebook, Rob Daniels, you can, you can find me on LinkedIn too. And so just please feel free to share those, those digital graphics of where the, the tour will be. And I just hope to see an audience in every city. There's, there's a famous broadcaster in every location that will be emceeing each one. So that's kind of neat. You can meet them and kind of pick their brain too. So that's kind of neat. And just we're gonna try and create meaningful change together in person. And hopefully I can, I can see you with a, a copy of the book then if you don't mind supporting at a book night coming up in, in April. So again, feel free to see those on social media and thank you so much for your support. I hope you can, you can get yourself a copy of the book there. It's available, by the way, in paperback, hardcover and ebook. Not every, it won't be available in all of those formats in person at these events. It'll mostly, I think it is only paperbacks in person. I have to talk to the bookstore to get official word on that. Pretty sure it is. So I will. Now that I've rambled on, I think I've given you the point. You know what it's all about and I hope to see you on the road. But. Right. Dear welcome back to Awareness. This is all about where we foster the more compassionate, empathetic and accepting society. And I can tell you this, there is no, there is no podcast that I wouldn't even be doing what I'm doing right now if it wasn't for the book. The book helped me discover that there should be a podcast. So essentially I started the podcast before the book officially came out. So this was like about a little over a year ago. I was still writing, deep into writing, but I said, you know what, there's something meaningful audio wise that can come out now and we'll figure out the book as when it's ready. And so just so you know, there is no awareness without being mindful of others. The key to humanity uniting. So here we are and I'm joined by my guest who's been very patient on the other end here. She's heard this spiel and she's gone through the author thing herself. We'll get to that too. I'm joined by very good friend by the name of Jessica Compton, the director of operations for Tree of Stars, an organization doing meaningful work in the mental health space. And with Mental Health Awareness Month coming up in May, we're going to talk about what they have planned over at Tree of Stars. And, and what Tree of Stars stands for and the purpose behind their work. Very meaningful work and something special. Jessica and I have both recently released these new books, like I had said, so we'll touch on that as well. Jessica, thank you so much for being here today and spending some time on awareness. [00:09:13] Speaker A: Thank you so much for having me, Rob. And you know what? I absolutely loved sitting here listening to all of the things that you're doing and that process right when you're talking about, you know, the podcast first and then your book. And I'm excited to get my hands on that in Stoney Creek in, in April. [00:09:31] Speaker B: So thank you so much. Yeah, that one. April 13th in Stoney Creek, hosted by Sonny Genesco, the great Sonny from Sunny and Hayes, the morning show on K Light for many, many years, which is now, I believe it's legend 1029 in Hamilton. So she's a great person and certainly on board for mental health initiatives. So for those hearing about Tree of Stars for the very first time, Jessica, what does the. What does the organization stand for and what is its core purpose? [00:10:03] Speaker A: Yeah, you know what? Starting back in April of 2017, promoting mental health and addiction recovery, mostly by telling our stories through wellness resources. There's many things that we have been a part of, if it was film, music release, but mostly, I guess if you're talking about the core, we're looking at peer support through journaling, workshops, getting us off our technology, doing speaking engagements and meeting people where they are. I've been a part of my own book tour, but a part of that. I think some things unfold that, you know, we're not aware of, where somebody's reaching out in a couple days saying, can you go to an AA meeting with me? Or hey, can you promote my music? It's all about mental health. So I think when connecting with people in the community, it's. It collaborates in its own way when it comes to the creative arts. So, yeah, there's lots going on. [00:11:02] Speaker B: That's, that's amazing. And it seems like you're. You're good like that on, on the fly. If someone comes up to you and wants to shoot the breeze about mental health and do a conversation, which I've seen various ones on Instagram of yours, like you, you really lead those conversations efficiently and, and you, and you certainly put up some great content there. So kudos on you for that. [00:11:26] Speaker A: I try. I try. You know, last, I think it was two weeks ago, I was at Niagara College with a bunch of students for a wellness retreat. So we did Some journaling and discussion panels. And even just last week I was at Out Loud North Bay for Youth with, you know, a safe space and we had a different author. We were making our own bookmarks and you know, I had a 12 year old come up to me and said, I want to be an author. And I was like, well you got to upload Canva. There's templates there. And the next day she was like, I uploaded Canva. I'm going to write my own book. So super cool. And that was my march break volunteering and just things naturally happen, right? [00:12:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, look at that. A good inspiration for sure. And I'm sure that 12 year old will be a very successful author one day thanks to your help. So that's good for sure. And what do you think the kind of impact, let's say, are you, are you hoping to make in the mental health space? Is there anything specific in terms of impact? [00:12:25] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, I recently, just last week, I now sit on a committee and I'm an ambassador for suicide prevention hotline out in Florida. So it's a global hotline. Humans answer the phone and it's super cool. Just, you know, me being on different podcasts, this is one of the opportunities that came up. So it just happened last week. So I think when we're talking about mental health, I think that self check in and, and also just really knowing what our resources are. So if it's outside Canada or if it's, you know, four hours north, I think we can all work together on having those resources. [00:13:04] Speaker B: So is that their version of 9, 8, 8 in a sense like Florida? [00:13:09] Speaker A: Yeah. You can look up Hope unite. And one of the things I'm doing is I'll be receiving some flower seeds and one of the things in the month of May, I'll be handing out seeds for kindness to get people to plant flowers. [00:13:25] Speaker B: Nice. So this is what this is for. Mental health awareness month for May. [00:13:29] Speaker A: Yeah, Planting one of the things. [00:13:31] Speaker B: Yeah, one of the things. Okay, that was what I was going to ask you next. So that I was kind of like, okay, so that's great, that's great. How can people get involved or support what you're doing there with that? [00:13:45] Speaker A: Yeah, you know what, honestly, if anybody wants to email or connect with my website Triastars on tour, there's many things that I do and there are some things that I have pulled back from as well. Just with going to encampments, it's sort of being unsafe for us to go in. So when it comes to mental health I think just me really, really knowing who somebody can contact for support. So if it's somebody who's 25 years old and they're looking for employment or if it's, you know, somebody who's 40 years old and, you know, they're, they're thinking life is just done. So I think that peer support and really listening. But yeah, I just, like I said, things unfold. And one of the things in May again that I'll be doing is a part of my book tour is there's an inclusion coffee place, I believe it's on Cannon Street. I'll have to double check that it's part of the book tour. I have to check the address the week before. But yeah, just going out to the inclusion coffee place during the day. We'll have some live music and doing some peer support right on the spot. [00:14:50] Speaker B: That's amazing. And I think that's important. Yeah. To just, you know, utilize your book big time throughout, you know, times that, that make sense. Not only just every day where everybody can benefit from it, but when you've got like a World Mental Health Day or when you've got Mental Health Awareness Month, dedicated the entire month of May to pull out the book and, and do some, some meaningful events with that is certainly a great thing that you're doing. I know I'm going to want to do some specialty events there with that too. It's. It's super important to get out there and, and make it matter, make it count most. It's. It's more emphasized when you do it around something that is, that, you know, is. Gives it extra attention, so to speak. So good on you for doing that. Again, it's May 12th. You're doing that maybe. [00:15:41] Speaker A: Oh, May 11th. [00:15:42] Speaker B: May 11th. [00:15:45] Speaker A: It's a Tuesday. [00:15:46] Speaker B: It's a Tuesday. Okay, good stuff. No, that's, that's amazing. And it's in Hamilton, right? [00:15:51] Speaker A: Yep. [00:15:52] Speaker B: Good. [00:15:53] Speaker A: It's all on my website, so I'll have to just double check. I feel like with the whole year tour, like every month or something where I'm at like a new bookstore or library, so I'm just kind of like. But the inclusion Coffee House, it's super cool because I think a part of like, you know, the month of May is just, you know, that awareness is just the inclusion safe space. I think recognizing there was a bunch of words that you said in the beginning and I was just like, oh my gosh, I feel like I'm in church with this guy. Like the words like connected with me and it's so true. Because when you were talking about the COVID of your book, like, literally, like somebody sitting in a canoe and, like, just hoping that people see that person, but, you know, people seeing that person for who they are. Right. If we're. If we're stuck in our heads. I say that all the time. And it's. It's so crazy. I'm at work and, like, I'll be talking to a teacher. I'm like, sorry, I'm stuck in my head today. And they're like, me too. So I think that whole me too movement was like, a big deal back in the day with, like. I think it was like, bella, let's talk, or something like that, but. [00:16:51] Speaker B: Right. [00:16:51] Speaker A: Okay. To be stuck in our heads. Right? [00:16:54] Speaker B: It is. And it's. It's natural as long as we. You know, my. My uncle, who I actually mentioned in the dedication in my book, he says this, and I try to remember it. I think that's what helps me day to day is a lot of the sayings that I've heard over the years, and one of his that I. That I resonate with, and I'm sure a lot of people could, is get out of your. It's. What is it? Get out of your head and into the moment, basically. So it's like. I know it's. It's kind of pressure inducing, and we're allowed to. I think it's great that there is no rule around allowing to drift off and wander. But as long. But as long as you use the awareness why I call this aware, to come back to the now and to know that when you get too deep into your thoughts to be like, all I have is right now. I can't do this now. Sometimes I'll be exercising, and I'm like, you're thinking about what you got to do the next day. And I'm like, no, I can't do that. All I have is right now. I cannot do that now. I can plan in the moment, later. But right now I got to do what I have to do right now. And it's difficult. Some people, it's more difficult than others. And I'll tell you, it's even more so difficult to live in the now. I find for perhaps people like you and I, or I know, for me for sure, maybe it's for you to. Where, like, I am. You know, there's the dreamer versus the realist. And I find if you're a dreamer, like, I'm a dreamer. I'm constantly like, what can I. I need to be Working on something. I'm obsessed with vision. I know that this book that I just did, I could not do it without whoever showing me the vision, the higher power. I don't know who it is. Like, you know, it's. You know, I want to say, okay, it's God, like, but I don't want to divide people. That's just who I grew up knowing, that that's what, you know, you. I'm supposed to believe in. So, you know, wanted to make my family happy. So that's what I'm believing in. And I don't really know. Like, I just know that someone's putting it in my brain. It's not necessarily me. I typically say this where it's like, it shouldn't just be my name on the book. It should be Rob Daniels, higher Power for the author. Because I knew that this was, like, a vision that was put in my head. And I'm like, I'm working alongside the vision. Whoever's showing me this. I'm just meeting myself daily to do this as much as possible. And whoever's showing me this is showing me it, and I'm gonna work alongside it because I know. And you probably got this, too. You get euphoric when you're writing. When you're like, it's not about motivation. It's about discipline. It's about showing up on the bad day, showing up on the good day, showing up, just showing up. And the fact that you can only write when you are just completely willing to be vulnerable. And the way I say it in writing is the only way out is to go in, and you have, you know, like, it's the. The only way it's going to be exported into the world is. Is by going deep into your soul. And that's what I found with this. And you have to. You have to kind of get euphoric, I find, with that. And we can, well, touch more on that in just a moment. But for you, in terms of going back on, we just sort of derailed a little bit here. Where I wanted to. We were talking about Mental Health Awareness Month. The challenges, let's say, when it comes to people facing, like, what challenges are people still facing when it comes to speaking up or getting support, do you find? [00:20:47] Speaker A: I think the bigger thing, especially with releasing my book, is I find, like, individuals saying that they're connecting with my book, but they're. They're not ready yet. And I. I was just saying this today. I'm like, ready. Like, when are we actually ever, like, all going to Be ready, I think, like to take that step. And when you're talking about the higher power or a higher power, I feel like that the more we either create, if it's painting or writing or music or if it's podcasting, if we're creating, I don' think, like if we have a balance, I think we can dip into different, you know, creatives and I think that that's okay. But even for my book, I had to step away for a couple of weeks and then go back in and I was in the middle of grieving and I there was a ton of emotions. But I also feel when we look at our old scars and we're writing about really allows us to reflect on like how far we've come. Because I can look back and go, you know what? I never thought 15 years ago to make it this far or 10 years ago or like, even like in the last two years when my mom passed away, I was like, oh my gosh, I need to see a doctor. I have physical pain from the emotional pain. I'm like, oh my gosh. But now that it's been two years and I understand it's a process with grief, but like, and then we were talking about this like pre podcast is like traffic, right? What a better time to listen to a podcast in traffic and take that time for yourself to connect with other people that have but like sitting in pain or, or processing that pain and just again with, with the awareness of like our self care and those resources that are out there. [00:22:29] Speaker B: Yeah, you just reminded me because there was a point that I was trying to get to before and I was like, I, I, I a little bit derailed myself. But the whole thing about the dreamer aspect and, and you may be a dreamer too, that I find being a dreamer and living in the moment the biggest challenge I find. And you might too, or if you're dreaming about what you want to write about and what the vision is showing you. And it's like I get too deep into it where it's like I like to go on daily walks. I don't know if you like something about exercise or just something about movement is medicine. But like if I'm going on a daily walk and I'm getting too into my head about what I want to write about and I'm walking, I'm, I'm getting out of the moment because I'm dreaming, I'm a dreamer. So it's like I got to remind my use the awareness to say, no, Rob, you're getting too far out Right now you're not doing that. Like, look at the blue jay birds and the cardinals in front of you on a nice summer day where it's a blue sky and, and the trees are glistening green. Like, that's the moment you got to be looking at. And so I find that's what will always work hand in hand regardless of whether or not you're a dreamer. But I find that for dreamers, it is a little more challenging. But that's essentially what you need to use, I find, and I don't know if you agree or disagree, is that it's that constant mixture, natural balance of mindfulness and awareness that has to be if you're, if you're wanting to be in the now more. So the mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment. And then the awareness of, oh, I've got too far from the present moment. I got to come back to the now. And it's just that constant mindfulness mixed with awareness that gets us into being in the now more often. Would you agree? [00:24:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I absolutely agree. Because, I mean, I work in a kindergarten class and we're off technology. We're coloring, you know, all this week I brought a whole bunch of bubbles. I'm outside and the sun's like, you know, super bright at 8 o' clock in the morning because I work at a school where like, you know, kids are getting off the bus at 8 o', clock, but I'm sitting there blowing bubbles and I'm just like. And then I'm like, right. Like there's 30 kids here, right? I'm counting and I'm like. But the thing is, I'm sitting there in the moment and I'm like, there's bubbles and like, oh, wow, it's already 9:30. It's just like, you know what I mean? So I'm like stuck in these bubbles and the kids are loving it. And then even with the coloring piece, like, for me, I just, I had like almost 10 kids lined up. They're wanting me to draw something. I'm not even like the biggest artist ever, but like, I just think like, living in the moment, like, get off technology, you know, who's in front of you if you have kids, family, spend the time with them, you know. And I think in a kind way is just being reminded to each other when you are visiting, just like, put the phones down, look into each other's eyes, you know, like, tell people how you feel you made. And that's scary. That's. It's scary because, like, even kids, they do look great in my eyes. They're four or five years old and their boundaries are like there is none. Right. They just want to connect. And it's just like as, as. As we get older and technology takes over and then we're older and we don't even know how to like, look into somebody's eyes. It's like 20, 26. Like, what is happening? [00:25:53] Speaker B: You made me think exactly of if you're. Exactly what you're saying. Please just, Just read. Chat. If you read any chapter of this new book, read chapter two and I'll just tell you the, The. The title of the chapter, Unplugged. So you will, like, relate to this complete. It's exactly what you're saying, but you'll see it in its own fictional form with the. The actual. You know, stories are fiction, but, you know, the premise is very much real for real life. And you'll see it exactly what you're saying is very coincides with chapter two and being mindful of others. The key to humanity uniting. And I wanted to ask you, in terms of your work with Tria Stars, I mean, you've been doing this now for quite some time. I've been following you. And you can follow Jessica, who's the director of operations at Triastars. Is that you? And it's on Instagram at Tree of Stars on tour, right? Is your handle? [00:26:52] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Everything's Tree of Stars on tour. And I, I live. It's. It's Tree of Stars, but with social media, it's Triasters on tour. I do. I, I label it like that because there's a music band out there called Tria Stars, so I had to tweak a little bit. And because we're always on the go at different sites with different musicians and things going on the on tour part. But it is actual Tria Stars, Facebook and whatnot. [00:27:21] Speaker B: So what drew you personally to this work? [00:27:25] Speaker A: Do you know What? Back in 2017, I was struggling in a dark place. And prior to that, I was kind of like in and out of dark places, just being. I guess, like, here's the real and raw part of me. I was incarcerated four times and childhood trauma. Being homeless and just really struggling on. On a dark side. And for me to come out on the other, I had a lot of people that guided me, supported me. But when I dabbled into the drugs on and off, it really kind of took a good toll at my life. And when I realized being in sobriety and really being intact with what was going on with my mental illness or my mental health. I do struggle with anxiety, a bit of depression and adhd. So I have to really be careful on if I do have a couple glasses of wine, I have to be careful who my surround are. I carry people's energy. Even working with kids, I come home and I sage, you know, and I just, yeah. With the work that I do, there was, there was a moment where I just, I didn't want to be here. And you know, I found that creating a peer support in cafes and getting people to come out and tell their stories and. Yeah, just going into the creatives with that too because I feel like even with a book, if somebody wanted to release a book and they didn't want to share their identity, they like ghost writing or something like that. So I just think everybody deserves a second chance or a third chance and everybody deserves to be here. And. [00:28:57] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's, that's so great of you to say and it's so true. I mean you've, you've come a long way and you've, what you're telling me here is you've, you've turned your pain into something meaningful. You've turned your pain into purpose. And that's what helps you day by day is by doing this, whether it's, it doesn't have to be your full time thing, it can just be your project that you're a part of your identity, your vision and it helps you cope. Right, by, by using your pain to help others. And you're doing that. [00:29:32] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say part of my, part of my book, there is like some writing and, and some paintings in there, but my photography goes a long way. Like I'll take, I took some pictures of like a jail cell and each page it really does reflect on, you know, kind of a new chapter. If it's like what does hiking do for me? Or what is being thankful do for me? So there are, there are many chapters kind of like your book where it's, you know, you got to, you got to dig into each chapter to kind of really feel it and, and do something with it. [00:30:02] Speaker B: Well, how about you tell us about your book? What inspired you to write it? [00:30:08] Speaker A: You know, my mom passed. Actually next week it's going to be two years. So she passed away and she, she wasn't really a part life until, you know, a couple years ago where our friendship became real and we put everything on the table. I feel like I'm choking up here. Hold on a second. It's. One sec. [00:30:34] Speaker B: That's what? Podcasts. You don't have to. Choking up. Yeah, no, I mean, like, it's, it's different for me, I guess, because I'm. What I mean by that is in radio, it's like, oh my gosh, you have like 10 seconds to talk over intro and then it's like if you, if you choke and you need to take a glass of water, it's like, oh, boy. Totally, totally messed up that talk time. But here it's like, you know, it's, it's conversation. So it's really. And stuff happens. So go ahead, continue. [00:31:00] Speaker A: Yeah, so, I mean, growing up without my mom and being in my 20s, we, we. We drank a little bit together and I was always doing things like going to the beer store for her, but there was, there was always a connection, but I had a lot of hate not understanding why or what. But, you know, she, she got really sick and when she had passed away, just before she passed away, we had a moment where, as I mentioned, just putting everything on the table, apologizing to each other, forgiving each other and just loving each other and building a friendship. So we became friends and we were playing board games, we were having dinners together, and then she passed away. I got the call at six o' clock in the morning and I kind of felt like. Of weeks, a couple, a yelping coyote out in the middle of the woods, just crying. And I was like, I've lost people before. I've been in pain before, but this was like a physical pain. I had to call my doctor and just say like, my heart is literally hurting. So I took weeks, almost a month off from work, and for 10 years, people were like, do you have a book? And I was like, I'm going to write a book. I'm going to do this. So I literally opened the laptop, I started writing, walked away a couple times. But I mentioned this about the scars. Just realizing how far I really came and how far I wanted to go. So it was kind of like a memoir. Talking about thanking my mom. Just the experiences I've had with other people. A bit of photography and. Yeah, just 62 pages. Bits and pieces. [00:32:35] Speaker B: Bits and pieces. Okay. Yeah. And you said 62 pages? [00:32:39] Speaker A: 62 pages each page. There's 30 pages of darkness, 30 pages of light, and lots of photography from, you know, the last ten years. I just picked out my favorites. Reflected one, one, like one page of writing into the one page of photography. But it probably takes somebody about an hour to read it. But with my adhd, I managed to sit down for, for an hour and read it, read it about 20 times to edit it. So when we're talking about like the obsessive part, my 20twentieth time, I was like, you know what if there's mistakes, there's mistakes. [00:33:14] Speaker B: Yeah. No, it's, it's totally understandable and it's totally normal. It's your. As you know, a lot of people say when it comes to their books, it ends up being that the book is their baby. Right. Like you, you have to. Yeah, it's, you know, you're editing, you. You make sure it's, it's the, it represents you. It's like, you know, you're you. It's going into the world and you want it to be the best version possible. And I struggle with that too, but I think it's a good thing to a certain extent. So what, what message do you hope readers take away from, from your book? [00:33:52] Speaker A: Do you know what? In all the years and everything that I've done, if it's forgiving people, setting boundaries, knowing my worth, checking in with myself, knowing my resources, if it's from sound healing to a psychotherapist, my number one message is protect your peace. Because if you've got three really good friends in your life, I think the best friend that you could have is yourself. So you have to protect your peace. [00:34:19] Speaker B: Right? Yeah. Makes sense. And you said for this being your first book writing it brought personal growth and, and healing for you, you think? [00:34:32] Speaker A: Absolutely. Makes me kind of want to write a second one. So I am documenting my, my tour. I got a photographer following me around, so we'll see if there's a second book. So there's just little bits and pieces everywhere. [00:34:45] Speaker B: Yeah, why not? Yeah. You know, keep it going. And it's, it's a good thing. It's therapeutic. And I'm sure the world could, could use more of your content. So that's good. You being the director of Triastars, I think, you know, an answer here, a meaningful answer, would go a long way for anyone listening who may be struggling right now. What does the director of Triastars have to say? What would you want them to hear today? [00:35:16] Speaker A: You know what? I'm going to go along with all the people that I've interviewed, and the biggest thing that they've all said, which I really enjoy hearing, is don't give up. Up in saying that I haven't given up. So I think that if somebody needs to reach out to somebody, if it's two o' clock in the morning, if there's not a hotline or if somebody wants to send me, you know, a DM or an email, I'm always up for a conversation. And brew coffee on the other side of the world if you have to. We'll chat it up. [00:35:44] Speaker B: There you go. Sounds good. One more time. Where can people find Trio Stars and get involved. Yeah. [00:35:53] Speaker A: Tree of Stars on tour website and Tree of Stars on tour on Instagram, Tree of Stars Facebook or Tree of Stars. You know, pretty much if you Google that it will bring it to me. [00:36:05] Speaker B: So and give a shout out for your book. Bits of pieces. Bits and pieces. Where, where can they find that item of gold? [00:36:14] Speaker A: Yeah, I, I, last week I just found out that I'm accepted into a bookstore. So it's, there's, there's basically my, my tours on, on my website. But contact me. I've mailed out some to Florida, Toronto. I, I'm my own Amazon right now, [00:36:30] Speaker B: so that's so cool. Oh, so it is on Amazon. All the Amazon. [00:36:34] Speaker A: Not on Amazon yet. January 2027 it will be and on Amazon. [00:36:38] Speaker B: Very good. Very no digital copies and okay. And so for right now they should get in touch with you and you could mail out some copies if you're Absolutely. Sounds good. Jessica, thank you so much for sharing your story and the work that you're doing. It is very meaningful work. Keep it, you know, keep it going. Especially heading into mental health awareness month in the month of May and you had mentioned got something exciting planned for that. So good on you. This is such an important conversations and congratulations again on your book. [00:37:11] Speaker A: Thank you so much and thanks for having me and yeah, I'm super excited to see you next month and to grab a copy of your book too. [00:37:19] Speaker B: I appreciate it. Yes. April 13th in Stoney Creek at the Indigo Heritage Green there. Very much looking forward to that. To everyone listening, take a moment today to check in on someone. Awareness of others can certainly change everything. And this is Awareness the podcast fostering a more compassionate, empathetic and accepting society. I sure hope you enjoyed episode number 36 with Jessica Compton, the Director of Operations at Tree of Stars. So make sure you take a look at all the content that she has available for you online and beyond. For my incredible producer, producer Mike on the other end, my name is Rob Daniels. Thank you so much for watching. Don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you get this podcast. I appreciate you for watching and listening and look forward to seeing you in the next episode. [00:38:16] Speaker A: Sam.